Medicated air distributing apparatus



A. L. SHARP MEDICATED AIR DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS March 21, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1947 March 21, 1950 A. L. SHARP MEDICATED AIR DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1947 .art.

Patented Mar. 21 1950 EMED'ICAIRED -AIR, DISTRIBUTING aAPPARAT-US Albert Sharp, Ardmore, Pa. -ApplicationMarch 14, 1947,:Serial-No. 7343-71 This invention relates .to the purification .of air and means-for supplying it .to local wardsoropierating-rooms so that apparatus mayibemounted .on anappropriate transportingmedium, such .as --a truck, carriage, .or .thellike, and as .the trans- ,portingmeans may .beselected to suit ,particular requirements, it is believed unnecessary to .show such a transporting .mediuml'for an under- .standing -of the invention byone skilled in the An object furthermoreof the invention is to .provide a compressor which .may be associated directly with the other partsoftheapparatus, or

the compressor may be located at any-distant rpoint such as .in a basement or other ,parto'f a building having air conducting ducts leading to the apparatus; .an'd.furthermoralit'is the purpose .of the inventor'to providea container for holding .fiuid to which the previously treated air is delivered so that 'it passes through the liquid and escapes for distribution and use-during surgical operations and the like, so that by this means, sterile air results from its ,passage through the several elements .of the apparatus. It i has been foundthat four units or cylinders are usually effective and eificient, though in the illustration one other cylinder is added as a twenty-five per cent safety'factor to insure complete sterility.

.A further object of thislinvent'ionlis to ,provide .an apparatus .of the character .li'ndicateii .wmeh is simple in .construction and comparatively i expensive to manufactureandmaintain, anditihas proven eflicie'nt and satisfactory in use.

"With the foregoing and other .obiects fin view,

,the'invention consists .in the details of .cons'truction, andin the. arrangementand combination .of

parts to be hereinafter i more =fully .set' forth and claimed.

Indescribing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding zpartsin the several views, and in which- I Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation, partly in section, .of the compressor and "the several units through which air is conducted and treated .for purifying it;

, .well "known .and need :not, it is "thought, be IlllllS' itrated .orde's'cr'ibed'in.detail,fthough'it is supplied with, an air supply pipe'G, with .anenlargedlntake .mouth or funnel '1, which is constructed as a ilencer so that the operation is noiselesayand Ytheair ,passes through a supply pipeB 'in which a valve s .is interposed, and'the said ,pipe 8 discharges iinto .a tank .or cylindrical member Ill which contains air cleaning material "H of any well known type. The bottom of the 'tube Ill I has a cap 12 with a valve l discha'rge pipe f3 .so that the cylinder [0 mayibeldrained, .or if the cap is removed, new filtering material may be substituted.

,An air. compression and-. storage tank I l has a pipe [5 connectedtoihwhichpipecommunicates with thecylinder l0 near the upper end thereof, and thepipefis'join'edlto'theftariknearthe bottom thereof so as to leave .a space between the pipe ,and the said bottom for accumulations which may occur .so that the circulation of the airwill not be affected.

The tank ,I 4 i is provided with a 7 pressure gauge l6 of well known utility, and thebottom of the tankhasa drain cook or valve l1.

A succession-of expansion cylinders 18, l9,"2ll, 2|, .and 22 also .formsgpart .of the (installation, and .a pipe I23 communicates with "the pressure tank near "its top and with the cylinder 18 above its lower end, and the said pipe 723 is supplied with suitable va1ves"24 and2'5 by whichthepassage of air through the pipe is controlled. The

valve 24 .is the well .known cut-off type, Whereas "the valve '25 'isof'lthe automatic expansion type,

as illustrated in Figures '5 and "6% of the drawing, and sincethe details of such a valve 'are'well known, it Jis'believed unnecessary todescribethem for an understanding of the invention by "one 'Thecylinderslll and=l9 are connected-together near "their 'upper 'ends by an automatic-expansion valve '26, 'an -the-cylinders'l9"and 20 areconnected together near their lower ends by a simi- "lar expansion valve itfithe "cylinders 20 and 2| are connected together near their upper ends-by anexpansion'valve 2-"6gandthe'cylinders -2 l"and '22 are connected together near their lower ends by an expansion valve 26 so that the communication between the several cylinders causes the air to travel in a circuitous route from the cylinder l8 to the cylinder 22, and it is seen that the valves near the lower ends of the cylinders are spaced from the ends thereof to a s-ufficient 'degree as to produce lodgments for foreign materials below the air entrances of the cylinders, and the cylinders are each provided with a drain cock, such as 21, to permit the removal of accumulations at the lower ends of the said cylinders.

A pipe 28 is connected to the cylinder 22 through an expansion valve 26, preferably near the upper end thereof, and the pipe has a connection 28' coupled to an injector tube 29 which extends through a stopper 30 in a bottle or reservoir 3 I it being intended that the bottle should contain a medicament which will be absorbed, to some extent, by air passing through the liquid or medicament, and there is a discharge pipe 32 extending through the cork or stopper 30 which terminates in a space in the bottle between the cork and the medicament so that the medicated air may be drawn from the bottle and through a suitable pipe 33 delivered to an operating room or supplied to a patient being treated.

All of the expansion valves 26 are preferably of the same construction and they include a tubular member 34 having external threads 35 at their ends, which ends are threaded in adjacent cylinders ior afiording the circulation of air between them. In the present embodiment of the invention, each tubular member is threaded internally at its ends, as shown at 36 and3'i, and apertured bushings 38 and 39 engage the respective threads 36 and 31; A spring 40 is interposed between the bushing 39 and a ball valve M, which valve is forced against the inner surface of the bushing 38 and it is efiective to close the passage so long as the pressure in a cylinder to which the valve is connected does not overcome the tension of thespring' holding the valve on its seat.

It is seen from an inspection of Figure 2 that a wall 42 of one of the cylinders and the wall 43 of the adjoining cylinder have threaded apertures, such as 44, with which the external threads of the tubular member engage for anchoring a valve to the respective cylinders.

It is obvious from the foregoing description that the objects of the invention initially introduced in the specification are attained by the assembled instrumentalities whose functions have been described in connection with a description of the elements so that further resum of the operation is believed unnecessary for an understanding of the invention by one skilled in the art.

Iclaim:

1. In a purified air distributing apparatus, an air compressor, a filtering member, a connection between the said air compressor and the filtering member, an air pressure tank in communication 'with'the said filtering member, a plurality of nication in succession includes an expansion valve between adjacent cylinders, the said ex- 4 pansion valve being so located that the air stream cannot flow directly from one cylinder into the next cylinder and in which the lower end of each cylinder is provided with a drain cock for drawing off impure accumulations.

3. In a purified air distributing apparatus, an air compressor, a filtering member, a connection between the said air compressor and the filteringmember, an air pressure tank in communication with the filtering member, a plurality of expansion cylinders having means of communication in successionsaid means of communication including an expansion valve disposed between each two cylinders, certain of said expansion valves connecting the upper ends of two cylinders and the rest of the expansion valves each connecting two cylinders together at the lower ends of the latter cylinders, a drain cock at the lower end of each cylinder for drawing off impure accumulations and means to conduct the purified air from the last of said expansion cylinders to a point of use. i

4. A purified air distributing apparatus based on claim 5 wherein the means of communication in succession includes an expansion valve between adjacent cylinders, said expansion valve comprising a tubular member having external threads engaging threads in the Walls of the adjacent cylinders and in which the tubular member has internal threads at its ends with apertured bushings threaded in the said ends, and a spring located between a bushing at one end and a valve seated against the bushing at the other'end so that the valve controls the passage of air throug the tubular member.

5. In a purified air distributing apparatus, an air compressor, a filtering member, a connection between said air compressor and the filtering member, an air pressure tank incommunication with said filtering member, a plurality of expansion cylinders having means of communication in succession, said communication means including an expansion valve between adjacent cylinders, the said expansion valves being so located that the air stream cannot flow directly from one cylinder into the next cylinder, an adjustable automatic expansion valve for controlling the communication between the air pressure tank and the first expansion cylinder, an outlet for the last cylinder, an expansion valve for said outlet and means to conduct the purified air from said outlet to a point of use.

ALBERT L. SHARP.

REFE ENCES CITED Name 3 I Date Schiller et al N o'v, 26,1929

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